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Zucchini & Sweet Potato Crusted Quiche

Hey guys! Sorry I’ve been a little MIA the past few weeks; my year-end at work ended up being pretty chaotic – which means I’ve been eating out more and working out less. Now that things have calmed down, I’m trying to get a jump start on 2018 with a little help from this healthy, delicious breakfast quiche.

I eat eggs almost every morning (typically hard boiled that I’ve prepped at the beginning of the week – easy on the go!), but sometimes I find it hard to get some veggies in for breakfast.

That’s why I’ve loaded this quiche with veggies, right down to the crust!

The crust is a combination of shredded/grated sweet potatoes and zucchini – similar to a fritter or a latke. If you have a food processor with a grating disc attachment, this comes together in a snap. The key is to squeeze out as much liquid out as possible after everything is grated!

The crust is first blind baked so it can set up before the filling is added, and the edges get nice and crispy! If you stick to the sweet potato/zucchini ratio as written in the recipe, you’re definitely going to taste mostly sweet potato. I love the flavor of zucchini, but it’s purpose in this recipe is to act as more of a filler, because adding the zucchini drops the carb count a bit than if you were to use just sweet potatoes. I used about two small sweet potatoes and two zucchini, but you can mix up the proportions (just try to stay around 6 cups total between the two).

Now on to the filling. Traditionally, quiches are made with eggs, cream/milk and whatever add-in’s; but I’ve subbed out the cream/milk for almond milk. I know it sounds strange (almond milk with eggs), so feel free to use regular milk, but I didn’t miss it using the almond milk; there is still a ton of egg flavor plus allll the those veggies.

But why sub with almond milk if you’re going to put goat cheese in it?!?

Good question; and I’m going to give you a very general 30,000ft answer, because I could write an entire blog post on this topic alone (and probably will). It’s my person preference to limit excess dairy during the week, so if I can find a milk alternative that still delivers great results, I’m likely going to go that route. I say ‘limit dairy’ because could never really truly give up cheese though (cheese = bae), but I try to preserve most of those indulgences for the weekends.

I did choose to use a little goat cheese here because 1) a little goes a long way, 2) goat cheese/goats milk has casein (one of two proteins found in milk, whey being the other) more similar to humans and slightly less lactose, so it’s generally easier to digest, and 3) it’s delicious.

Part of my plan in 2018 is to write more about health and wellness so I can cover topics like these in more detail.

I’ve got plenty of ideas, but what else do you want to know about?! Comment below or e-mail me with any questions or topics you want me to cover!

Looking forward to hearing from you and cheers to a jumpstart on 2018!

(Note: the grating disc of a food processor works best for this, but if you don't have one just use a box grater. Once finished, place the grated potatoes and zucchini between paper towels/dish towel/cheese cloth and squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can.)

Serves: 8

Ingredients

For the Crust:

4 cups grated/shredded sweet potatoes (about 2 small potatoes)

2 cups grated/shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)

2 eggs

6 tbsp gluten-free flour (use a 1:1 gluten-free flour, or use AP flour if not gluten-free)

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

2 tsp ghee, melted (or butter if not dairy-free), plus more for greasing the pan (can also use avocado oil)

For the Filling:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 leek, washed and chopped, white and light green only

1 cup diced red bell pepper (about 1 medium pepper)

1¼ - 1½ cup diced baby bella mushrooms

5 oz spinach

6 eggs

1 cup almond milk (or regular milk if not dairy-free)

3 - 4 oz goat cheese crumbles, plus more for garnish (optional)

1 tsp ghee (or butter if not dairy-free)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the grated sweet potato and zucchini.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then add to the sweet potato/zucchini mixture.

Add the flour, salt, pepper and melted ghee to the sweet potato/zucchini mixture. Mix together until well combined.

Grease a 9" springform pan or pie pan with ghee. Spread the sweet potato/zucchini mixture along the bottom and sides of the pan, patting down to pack the mixture to the pan. You want the crust to be a little more than ¼" thick, but not quite ½".

Place the pan in the oven for about 20 - 25 minutes (blind bake). Check on the crust halfway through; if there are any air bubbles, just pop with a knife. Also, if the top edges start to get too brown, you can cover them with foil, but don't cover the whole pan as it will steam the crust.

Meanwhile, when there is about 10 minutes left on the crust, make the filling. In a large sauté pan, melt the ghee over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, stirring constantly for 1 - 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the chopped leeks, sautéing about 3 - 4 minutes. Then add the bell pepper, sauté another 2 - 3 minutes. Then add the mushrooms, spinach and a generous pinch of salt and pepper, sautéing another 3 - 4 minutes until spinach is wilted. Transfer veggie mixture to a strainer to drain the water/liquid released during cooking. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, almond milk, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Add the drained veggie mixture and half the goat cheese to the egg mixture, stirring until well combined.

Once the crust has finished its blind bake, remove the pan and drop the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Pour the filling mixture in the crust, top with the remaining goat cheese, then place back in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the eggs are set (a knife should come out clean when inserted).

*Nutritional Information provided is a rough estimate for informational purposes and based on the recipe measurements, specific ingredients used and nutritional data available. Any variance in ingredients or measurements may affect the Nutritional Information accordingly.